Golf courses expect a busy year

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Tuesday was the first day of play on the course at Northbrook Golf and Grill in Luxemburg, and based on last year, golf pro Dave Spengler expects a busy season.

“Golf being deemed a safe activity certainly brought the regulars back out in full force, but also I think brought a lot of people back to the game that maybe had quit playing it and we had an absolutely incredible year,” PGA head golf professional Spengler said.

If the weekend forecast has you thinking about grabbing your golf clubs, you’re not alone. Area golf courses expect not only a busy weekend but for it to stay that way for months to come.

The pandemic has proven to be a benefit to the golf industry.

“If you’re just talking about impact of 2019 versus 2020, the National Golf Foundation showed us having about a 20 percent year-to-year increase from the two years,” Wisconsin PGA Assistant Executive Director Chris Hoel said about the state’s numbers.

Despite more people getting vaccinated by the day, and a return to normalcy hopefully on the horizon, interest in outdoor activities shows no signs of slowing down.

“The golf business certainly is no exception, it’s been hard to get a lot of equipment orders in and things of that nature.”

“I think people are going to stick with the game if they started with it last year, and it’s just going to continue to flourish. It’s just a matter of, are we going to see a little impact during the weekdays as people return to the office and don’t have maybe quite as much of a flexible work schedule.”

And for those new to the game Spengler’s advice is to get a lesson or two.

“The number of facilities we have with PGA golf professionals in this area, we’ve all got some types of programming available lesson-wise for true beginners, group settings, private lessons. It’s always recommended. Even for the seasoned players, go out and get a tune up on your golf swing early in the season, so that, A, maybe you can fix something, but B, have a positive direction and OK, this is what I want to work on if I’m going to improve this year.

Many area golf courses are not only open but reporting the best early season course conditions they can remember.